Green Bay News

MADISON (AP) – Thirteen vacant positions within the state Department of Natural Resources that deal with fish and wildlife issues would be eliminated under a vote by the Legislature’s budget committee.

The Joint Finance Committee voted 12-4 Wednesday to cut 13.35 vacant positions to save just over $1 million.

Democrats argued against eliminating the positions, saying it would hurt DNR’s fish and wildlife programs and conservation law enforcement efforts.

Democrats joined with Republicans in voting to require DNR to meet with hunters, anglers, trappers, conservationists and other stakeholders to come up with a plan to deal with an imbalance in the fish and wildlife account.

The majority of the fund comes from fishing and hunting licensing fees. It’s been running in the red for years.

Gov. Scott Walker did not propose raising fees.

STEVENS POINT – WIAA member schools Wednesday rejected a variety of proposals which would have changed which division teams are assigned for the playoffs – leaving the status quo intact.

One proposal would have moved schools up a divison based on success in the playoffs, but that was rejected.

Other proposals would have counted private school students as either 1.65 or 1.25 students each, but those were voted down, as well.

Another idea was to count open enrollment students as double, but that was rejected.

The sports which would have been affected were boys and girls basketball and soccer, baseball, softball and girls volleyball.

There were 416 schools at the meeting.

Fox 11’s Doug Ritchay is at the meeting. Check back here for updates, and Doug will have a full report on Fox 11 News at Five.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The family of a 24-year-old woman who died of a heroin overdose has written an obituary openly discussing her struggle with drugs, including a plea to “do everything possible” to help drug addicts before it’s too late.

Molly Parks died in Manchester on April 16. Her family in Saco, Maine, writes that along her journey through life, “she made a lot of bad decisions, including experimenting with drugs.”

It says Parks fought her addiction for at least five years and experienced a near-fatal overdose before. Her family said it tried to be as supportive as possible as she struggled with the heroin epidemic “that has been so destructive to individuals and families in her age bracket.”

• Click here to read the full obituary

Her father, Tom Parks, tells WMUR-TV that his daughter had visited him the weekend before her death. She was working and seemed to be doing well, he said.

Parks says the message is: “Don’t believe your addict is clean. Don’t do it. You have to be diligent. Stay right on top of them.”

Thousands of spectators came out and the DNR handled more than 1,500 fish during the recent sturgeon spawning run.

DNR sturgeon biologist Ryan Koenigs says the first spawning activity of the year was documented on the upper Fox River at Eureka and Princeton last Tuesday. The next day, the DNR handled four fish at Princeton, implanting transmitters that will monitor their movement and future spawning migrations for the next 10 years.

On the Wolf, Little Wolf and Pigeon Rivers, spawning began on Thursday. That day, the crew handled a total of 70 fish, including 11 at the Clintonville Dam on the Pigeon River – the first time the DNR had ever handled spawning sturgeon in Clintonville.

The peak of spawning activity was on Friday and Saturday. Koenigs said the conservation group Shadows on the Wolf estimates more than 6,000 people per day visited the Bamboo Bend observation site on the Wolf River on Friday and Saturday. Warm and sunny weather over the weekend helped draw crowds, Koenigs said.

Spawning ended on Monday.

In all, Koenigs says the DNR handled 1,521 sturgeon while spawning – 1,209 males and 312 females.

Here is a breakdown of the fish the DNR crew handled:

Date Location Water body Males Females Total April 15 Princeton Upper Fox River 4 0 4 April 16 County X Wolf River 51 1 52   Manawa Little Wolf River 4 3 7   Clintonville Pigeon River 10 1 11 April 17 Bamboo Bend Wolf River 15 5 20   Singlers Wolf River 115 19 134   Shawano Wolf River 6 4 10   County X Wolf River 70 5 75   Pines Wolf River 178 22 200 April 18 Shawano (Flume) Wolf River 117 83 200   Shawano (Middle) Wolf River 174 76 250   Shawano (East) Wolf River 188 62 250   Shawano (Flume) Wolf River 68 10 78   Shawano (East) Wolf River 113 12 125   Shawano (Middle) Wolf River 46 4 50   Kruegers Embarrass River 32 5 37 April 20 Pines Wolf River 18 0 18 Total

1,209 312 1,521 Source: Wisconsin DNR

ASHWAUBENON – After 10 NFL Drafts, Packers general manager Ted Thompson remained hush on his winning strategy at the annual pre-draft press conference.

“I don’t have secrets,” Thompson joked. “If I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

The Packers go in to the 2015 addition with needs, especially at linebacker and cornerback, but Thompson says it’s about picking the best players available.

“The way to draft is to pick the best player available,” Thompson said. “You don’t know what you’re going to need. You think you know but this isn’t play time, it’s real life.”

Thompson has had plenty of success over the last decade with early selections like Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Nelson and Eddie Lacy. However, he’s also found great value late in players like Corey Linsley, Micah Hyde and Sam Barrington.

“Draft choices are all about value,” Thompson said. “The question is how much and for how long? That’s how we look at it.”

Thompson kept this year’s intentions pretty close to the vest but what we do know, is the team will continue to find players that best help the current regime.

“We want players to come in and help mesh with the veterans” Thompson said. “We want them to be able to contribute right away. That’s what we say every year.”

ELKHORN (AP) – The mother of a fatally shot 11-year-old boy from the town of Sharon says punishments handed down in the case lessen the value of his life.

Eric Gutierrez died in July after he was shot in the head by a 14-year-old friend. Authorities say the two were playing with guns, and that the 14-year-old’s father kept about 20 guns unlocked in the family’s home.

The 14-year-old was sentenced to a year of supervision Tuesday on a charge of homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon. The father pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a child and was sentenced to a year of probation as well counseling and restitution.

Eric’s mother, Rebecca Orick, tells The Janesville Gazette that she feels like the justice system has “completely failed” her and her family.

MADISON (AP) – Un-registered tractors could be driven on Wisconsin state highways for “occasional personal use” under a provision added to the state budget.

The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to allow un-registered tractors to be driven on the state’s roads for special occasions, including parades and antique vehicle club events.

Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach had questioned what “personal use” of a tractor would entail, saying it could be a Sunday drive that would clog up traffic.

But Republican Sen. Luther Olsen says the change is intended for antique tractors intended for parades and shows that aren’t registered. He says tractors used in field work can already operate on roads without being registered.

BALSAM LAKE (AP) – A judge in western Wisconsin has ordered a Minnesota teen to stand trial on charges of fatally stabbing a fisherman during a confrontation along the St. Croix River.

Nineteen-year-old Levi Acre-Kendall is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the April 14th death of 34-year-old Peter Kelly at Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls on the border of Minnesota.

KMSP-TV reports Acre-Kendall’s attorney argued in Polk County Circuit Court Wednesday that the defendant was acting in self-defense. Acre-Kendall fled after the deadly riverfront confrontation, but surrendered to authorities two days later. Officials say two friends with Acre-Kendall at the time are witnesses, but not suspects.

A criminal complaint says authorities have recovered a knife investigators say was used in the homicide from the defendant’s home in Cambridge.

MADISON (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal allowing Wisconsin driver’s licenses to be renewed online one time has been scaled back by the Legislature’s budget committee.

The Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday voted to allow online renewal only for new drivers moving from an instructional permit to a probationary license and then to a regular license.

Walker’s original proposal would have allowed any driver to renew online one time. But that elicited concerns from law enforcement about drivers going as long as 16 years without a new picture being taken.

The committee did give the Department of Transportation the ability to issue identification cards to people over age 65 that would never expire.

The committee voted 12-4 on the changes, with all Republicans in support and Democrats against.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is heading west to make connections in Minnesota.

Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt says he and other Republican lawmakers will meet with the likely presidential candidate Thursday. It’s just Walker’s latest trip to meet with politicians in other states as the Republican governor prepares for a potential bid in 2016.

Daudt says he expects Walker to discuss his tenure as Wisconsin’s chief executive.

Walker has said he won’t formally decide whether to run until after he signs a state budget into law, likely in June.

MADISON (AP) – A federal appeals court says a Navajo Indian imprisoned in Wisconsin can wear a headband and is entitled to venison for a religious feast.

David Schlemm filed a lawsuit in 2011 demanding he be allowed to wear a headband while he prays and eat a special venison meal to celebrate his tribe’s Ghost Feast. U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled last summer that prison rules prohibiting headbands and a lack of venison don’t create a substantial burden on Schlemm’s religious practices.

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling Tuesday that the state failed to show how granting Schlemm’s headband request would undermine the need to suppress gang identifications and the prison system allows external food to be brought in for other religious ceremonies such as Passover.

MADISON (AP) – Fifty-seven Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources workers have been notified that they may lose their jobs under cuts proposed by Gov. Scott Walker.

DNR spokesman Bill Cosh said Wednesday the notices are the first step in the process, and it’s not known yet how many ultimately will lose their jobs.

Walker’s two-year spending plan would cut 66 positions across DNR, including just over 18 in the Bureau of Scientific Services. Cosh says all 27 people in that bureau had to receive potential lay-off notices, even though not all of them may lose their job.

Walker’s proposed cuts in that bureau have been criticized by Democrats, environmentalists and others who fear the loss of scientific expertise will hurt decision-making and increase the influence of politics.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – An outbreak of canine flu has sickened more than 1,000 dogs in the Midwest, killing a handful and stirring concern among animal lovers nationwide that the highly contagious virus will sideline their pets.

Experts blame the epidemic on a strain called H3N2 that is seen in Asia and leaves pets feeling lousy for about two weeks. Veterinarians believe the strain, which doesn’t yet have a vaccine, will likely spread to other parts of the country, so they offer ways to keep pets healthy or help those that are already ill.

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Steve Gilberg, a digital marketer in Chicago, says his 6-year-old pug-Chihuahua mix, Joey, had most of the symptoms: high fever, runny nose, watery eyes, sore throat and loss of appetite. But mostly, he coughed.

“He just started coughing really, really hard, kind of like a smoker’s hacking cough, coming from the belly,” Gilberg said.

Dr. Brian Collins urges owners to pay attention to changes in behavior, such as dwindling interest in eating, drinking and playing, labored or rapid breathing, or lethargy.

“If he’s always happy to eat and now he isn’t, that isn’t a good sign. Are they clingy when they are usually close, removed when they are usually just a bit aloof?” said Collins, a companion animal veterinarian at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York.

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HELPING SICK PETS

Start by taking its temperature. You can’t just feel your dog’s forehead to see if it’s running a fever, but digital thermometers can take readings under an armpit or in the most accurate area – the backside, Collins said.

Food and fluids are important, so keep trying to entice your buddy. With a pet that isn’t eating well, offer fare that’s a bit more tempting, but be careful it doesn’t cause a stomachache. Try some baby food, canned meals or dry food softened with water.

Dogs probably have achy muscles, a sore throat and stuffy head, while feeling tired and run down, so don’t discourage long bouts of snoozing as long as they are getting up to go outside and staying hydrated.

“If he’s mostly resting and seems stable and is breathing comfortably, then the more sleep, the better,” Collins said.

Gilberg said his sick pup would lie in bed all day, but it helped to hold him and then his energy returned gradually.

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AVOID GERMS

Infected dogs can be contagious for two weeks, so keep pets – sick or healthy – away from other pooches and places where they gather, such as doggie day cares, dog parks, groomers and pet stores.

Some pet businesses in Illinois closed for a few days to help stop the spread. When Gilberg took Joey to the vet, the receptionist asked them to wait out front to avoid getting other dogs sick.

The virus gets passed through the air when dogs sneeze or by people when germs jump on hands or clothing, where they can live for hours. But the canine flu doesn’t sicken people.

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WHEN MEDICINE HELPS

There is no vaccine for the strain sweeping through Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. Shots are available for a similar strain seen last year, and some vets believe it could help ward off germs.

But there’s no need to vaccinate dogs that are already sick, said Dr. Drew Sullivan of the Medical District Veterinary Clinic at Illinois in Chicago.

Antibiotics likely would come in if a flu-infected dog contracts pneumonia.

But doctors warn against treating dogs with cough syrup or other over-the-counter medicine in case it counteracts with other medications.

“I don’t think it’s going away,” Sullivan said of the outbreak. “We can’t treat the virus, just the symptoms.”

Watch live streaming video as Packers General Manager Ted Thompson discussing the NFL Draft.

OSHKOSH – A detached garage collapsed during an overnight fire in Oshkosh.

Firefighters say they were called to 622 Jefferson St. around 12:20 a.m. The collapse happened within five minutes of firefighters arriving; the entire fire was put out within 15 minutes. The heat caused minor damage to a neighboring house.

No one was hurt. Firefighters are still investigating how the fire started.

MADISON (AP) – There’s another case of bird flu in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said Wednesday that H5 avian influenza has been detected in an unidentified turkey flock in Chippewa County.

State agriculture officials say the property where the flu was detected in the flock of 87,000 birds has been quarantined. All the birds that haven’t died from the flu will be killed.

The latest discovery brings to four the number of cases in Wisconsin. It was first detected in a commercial chicken flock in Jefferson County on April 12. It was later found in in flocks in Barron and Juneau counties.

Agriculture officials say more than 310,000 birds have been destroyed in Wisconsin as a result of the avian flu.

APPLETON – One person is in custody after an overnight stabbing in Appleton.

Officials say it happened in the 1000 Block of E. Windfield Pl.

This is all the information the Appleton Police Department is sharing right now. Once we learn more, we’ll update the story.

SUAMICO – The reptiles at the NEW Zoo are nice and warm even though it’s pretty chilly outside.

Neil Anderson was live on Good Day Wisconsin Wednesday morning to tell us how they keep the cold-blooded animals at the zoo comfortable year round and how they’re making sure the penguins and other birds are safe from the bird flu.

NEENAH – Mom and Pop Place in downtown Neenah is a toy store and baby boutique that focuses on products that are “earth friendly.”   Owner Adria Ramos picked a few items to highlight in honor of Earth Day.  With the help of her son, she showed us how “The Maker Studio – Gear Set” works.  It’s a way for you to turn your trash and recyclables, such as a Mac ‘N Cheese box,  into robots and machines.   Later, Ramos talked about the increasing popularity of reusable swim diapers and training pants.

Mom and Pop Place
117 W Wisconsin Ave
Neenah, Wisconsin
(920) 725-0488

MARSHFIELD, Wis. (AP) – Flags are flying at half-staff at state buildings and military installations to honor a Wisconsin Air National Guard member who died in a fatal fall in Japan.

A funeral service will be held Wednesday in Marshfield for Airman 1stt Class Kelly Tomfohrde. The 22-year-old guard member was deployed to Japan with Madison’s 115th Fighter Wing. She died April 5 when she fell from a fifth-story window in Okinawa. The Air Force says her death is under investigation.

Tomfohrde is a 2011 graduate of Auburndale High School and was enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. A service with full military honors will be held at Northridge Church in Marshfield at 11 a.m.